


Through a different lens

by sasuhina_gal



Series: Through a different lens [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Artist Draco Malfoy, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Good Slytherins, M/M, Photographer Harry, Ravenclaw Hermione Granger, Slytherin Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 12:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6957166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasuhina_gal/pseuds/sasuhina_gal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry finds comfort in the camera his mother left. He uses it as an example to try and look at people from past their exterior. When one blonde boy sees something about him no one's ever cared to see, he keeps close. But can he keep his head above the new world and people thrown at him? And what about the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through a different lens

**Author's Note:**

> So this was originally suppose to be my first Harry Potter story and just hours and hours on Tumblr has finally given me the courage to write this, but Give you a boost finished first. It’s Drarry but not for a while, so if that’s not for you, please hit the back button. Please be nice, I know this isn't the best but hopefully, you guys like it. Big thanks to gryffindorkssuck from tumblr for betaing this chapter. Enjoy

Harry pushed the door to the attic open. As the door opened, a cloud of dust flew into the boy’s face, causing him to cough and to be covered sparsely in it. Rubbing his eyes from under his glasses, he climbed into the attic and took a look around. For having such neat appearance family members, their attic was a mess. Aunt Petunia sent him up here to retrieve some table cloth that she promised some woman who worked for the church. Apparently the woman was a big influence in the neighbourhood. His aunt wanted to continue to make a good impression on her, so he had to look in the maze of boxes to find one table cloth.

He sighed as he realised how hard this particular task was going to be. It had been thrown in the middle of his other chores and he was sure if he couldn’t finish them before dinner rolled around, it was to his cupboard with no dinner and the left over chores added to an already long list of chores for the next day. Deciding to get it over with, he kneeled next to the first box and got started.

Hours seemed to pass when he found it. It was a film camera, the film in it old and ruined the batteries almost rotten and leaking. He found it in a box filled with black cloth lined with red with a strange monogram on it. The camera was black with silver lining and said AE-1 on the side. On the back, in the corner, was written ‘Lily E.’

Why did the name Lily sound so familiar? He mulled over it before it hit him. Lily Evens, his mom. His aunt and uncle told him his parents died in a car crash and he heard his mother’s name mentioned once. Evens was Aunt Petunia’s maiden name, it was still on a subscription she got every month. The camera belonged to his mother. He didn’t have anything from his parents, except his blanket he had when he finally came to live at the Dursleys. But this was the only thing he was sure belonged to his mother. He had to get it down to his cupboard. How though? While Dudley wasn’t home at the moment, and Uncle Vernon wasn’t due back home for a few more hours, he had no doubt in his mind that Aunt Petunia would throw out the camera in seconds. Putting the camera to the side, he quickly went through all the boxes and thankfully found the tablecloth. Sneaking back downstairs, he checked to make sure that his aunt wasn’t in the kitchen. He spotted her outside, no doubt looking over their neighbour’s wall for gossip. Before she could come back inside, he quickly hid the camera in the cupboard before giving the tablecloth to his aunt.

For the rest of the day, his mind wasn’t on finishing his chores, it was on what seemed like an insignificant camera but felt like so much more.

Monday came around and when he went to school, he immediately went to find the art teacher. He showed her the camera and she looked very impressed.

“This camera was released in 1976 and it’s still in perfect condition. Thankfully you saved the battery camber. Would you like me to show you how to use it?”

With a roll of 24 pictures film and new batteries in the camera, Harry found that there was something different through the lens. Something only he, and maybe one day others, could see.

* * *

 

The past two months where the strangest for Harry. First, the snake at the zoo understood him which later escaped when, somehow, the glass disappeared then reappeared once Dudley got trapped in. after being blamed he was locked in his cupboard. He didn’t risk using his camera. Ever since the art teacher taught him how to use it, the few times he ever used it was at the school of at Ms. Figg house. He had about 5 spots left on the film but he couldn’t waste it. He only used the camera to capture the few times he felt happy. When he finally let out, the letters came. It had his address on it and by that he meant the address for under the stairs in the cupboard. When the Durselys found out, they started acting a bit nice to him. They moved him to Dudley’s old bedroom, ignoring the boy’s protest. During the move, Aunt Petunia discovered the camera but didn’t say anything or even bring it up to her husband. However, the letters continued to come, the address the only thing changing. 1 spot on the roll of film was given up to capture the amount of owls that took over Pivet Drive each day the letters came.

Harry tried to steal one of the letters but Uncle Vernon always got to them first and he tried to close off every space the letters could come in. the last straw was when the letter shot out from the fireplace, attacking them. Before he could even get one, the family was shoved out from the living room and told to pack, they were leaving. During their drive, while trying to ignore Dudley’s whimpering, Harry wondered why, whoever the people were, were so insistent on sending him that letter. He wasn’t special. He had mediocre skills in photography and he could probably do every chore under the sun but other than that, he wasn’t special.

But apparently, whoever was sending him the letters thought so. Even staying at a seedy hotel couldn’t throw them off. There was a letter waiting for him the next morning at the front desk. He didn’t think Uncle Vernon could look so red in the face and insane at the same time. But the expression stayed until they reached their newest location, a house on a rock. The water was choppy with the impending storm and the wind howled, almost as loud as Dudley complained. Harry couldn’t help but feel the need to take a picture of the chaos in front of him. When he grabbed his bag and waited for the others to get their things, he decided to chance it. He pulled out the camera and focused on the stone house that stood firm on its rock. As he heard the shutter, he heard Dudley tell his mother about the camera.

“Mommy, he stole a camera from the school. Take it from him!”

“No he didn’t Dudley. Please be quite so we can leave.”

“But mommy!”

“Dudley, sweet heart, please.”

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Aunt Petunia wasn’t taking the camera and she actually defended him to her darling Dudleykins? He supressed the urge to take a photo of that conversation and hid the camera in his bag again.

After an extremely horrible ride over, the saddest dinner he ever had – which was saying something – also realising all the running around had led to the day before his birthday and having to sleep on the floor with a ratty blanket, Harry had to say that this was the most interesting day. He drew a birthday cake on the sandy ground, his other hand playing with the cocking lever on the camera. He looked at his watch to see it finally hit 12. It was finally July 31, his birthday.

“Happy birthday Harry.” He muttered to himself before blowing out the candles he drew on his cake. Just then something started banging on the door. Dudley immediately woke up and he heard his aunt and uncle come down the stairs. He saw his uncle carrying the gun he had been given before they left for the house on the rock and hid himself by the fireplace. The door finally flew off its hinges and fell to the floor as a large man, as tall as the door walked in. he was in a brown trench coat and his long hair seemed a little wild, but that could have been from the wind outside.

“Sorry about tha’.” The man said before turning around and lifted the door back into place.

“You are trespassing! I demand you leave at once!” Uncle Vernon screamed

The man stalked over to his uncle, who despite his anger, quickly shrunk away from the man, even as he grabbed the long end of the gun and bent it upward, “dry up Dursley, you old prune.”

Harry leaned forward to look at man, who turned and looked straight at him.

“Hello Harry. Haven’t seen you since you were a babe. You look like ya dad, but you got your mom’s eyes. Oh, almost forgot, got you a present.” He came closer to Harry, who removed himself from his hiding place. The man removed a white box with a green ribbon on it from one of his pockets of his coat and handed it to harry. Before he could even fathom a guess at what it was, Harry’s chest felt warm. He had never gotten anything for his birthday. The Dursleys never cared but this mammoth of a man, who he couldn’t even remember, remembered it was his birthday and got him something. A cake to be exact. Harry’s smile grew bigger as he looked at the pink iced cake with the words ‘Happe Birthday Harre’

“Sorry ‘bout the spelling. Wasn’t payin’ attention on the first ‘e’ and then I thought, why not?”

“I love it. Thank you, but I have to ask,” Harry said, setting the cake down on the nearby table, “who are you?”

“Rubis Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.” The man, Hagrid, said proudly, “but you prolly’ know all about that already.”

Harry furrowed his brow, “um, no sorry.”

“No? Blimey Harry, don’t ya wonder where your parents learned it all?”

Harry felt even more confused, “Learnt what?”

“Yer a wizard Harry.”

Harry stood there stunned. A lot of strange things had happened to him since the first letter arrived. But this was insane. “A-a what?”

“A wizard. A thumping good one at tha’, once you train yourself a bit.”

“No, you must be mistaken. I can’t be a wizard. I’m just Harry, plain old Harry.”

“Well Mr. Plain old Harry, did anything strange happen to you, when you were scared or angry?” Hagrid asked, with a look that said he already knew the answer.

Harry wanted to prove him wrong but as he thought, he realised he couldn’t. His hair from when it was cut, when he was able to get to the other roof at school, the glass at the zoo. Could he be right? Could all of that be the result of… _magic_?

Almost as if needed an incentive to believe him, Hagrid pulled out a letter. The letter, the one in heavy envelope that was sealed with the crest with the four animals. The letter that started it all. Hesitantly, he took it from the larger man and with a sigh, he opened it.

“Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Harry read, a smile starting to form on his face

“He will not be going! We swore when we took him in, that we would put a stop to this foolishness!” Uncle Vernon snapped, finally coming out of his fear filled stupor.

Everything was finally fitting into Harry’s head, “you knew. You knew and you never told me?”

“Of course I knew.” Aunt Petunia sneered, “With my perfect sister. When she got her letter, my parents were so proud. ‘We have a witch in the family, isn’t it wonderful?’ but I was the only one who saw her for what she was, a freak.” Harry flinched as she spat out the word, “and when she had you, oh I _knew_ that you’d be just as strange, just as abnormal. And she and that Potter went and got themselves blown up and we got landed with you!”

“Blown up? You told my parents died from a car crash.” What else had his family lied to him about? Was he not even supposed to be with them in the first place?

“A car crash? Lily and James Potter, died from a car crash? That’s an outrage, a scandal!” Hagrid yelled

“He will not be going.” Uncle Vernon said, trying to solidify the fact.

“An’ I suppose a muggle like you is gonna stop ‘im?” Hagrid asked condescendingly.

“Muggle?” Harry chimed in

“Non-magic folk. This boy has had his name down since the day he was born. He’ll be going to the finest magic school in all the land and he’ll be under the guide of one of the greatest wizards, Albus Dumbledore.” Hearing Hagrid speak about the school, Harry felt even more excited. Finally a place that he might feel normal in.

“I’m not paying to have some crack pot teach him magic tricks!” Uncle Vernon snapped.

Harry watched Hagrid’s face turn dark and he pointed the tip of his pink – how did he not realise that earlier? – umbrella in his uncle’s face. “Never insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me.”

The room was quite when Harry heard something vaguely familiar. He poked his head around his uncle to see Dudley devouring _his_ cake. Before he could say anything, he saw Hagrid point at the plump boy and a curly pig’s tale appeared. Harry struggled to keep in his laughs when his aunt saw her precious Dudlykins with the tale. It prompted the whole of the Dursley family to scream and chase Dudley around.

“Uh, I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone about tha’. I’m not really supposed to be doin’ magic.” Harry quickly nodded. “Well, I say we head off. I can bet you’d rather not be stayin’ here.”

Hagrid was right. It seemed strange, the whole turn of events. He wanted to know more about his parents and the world they lived in. He didn’t want to live in fear of what his relatives could do to him. Grabbing his flannel shirt and his bag, he followed Hagrid out the door. He had no clue what to expect, but he was ready to face the challenge.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have no clue when this will be updated. I may be on Summer Break but I have so many other stories to do, so please be patient. I'll try to be quick but I don't know. So hit the kudos button and leave a comment.


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